Civilian aviation in southeast Poland ground to a sudden halt on the morning of 26 February after the Operational Command of Poland’s Armed Forces scrambled F-16s and other allied aircraft in response to a large-scale Russian missile and drone attack on western Ukraine. For almost four hours the country’s air-defence network operated at the highest state of readiness; to give the military a clear arena, the Polish Air Navigation Services Agency (PANSA) ordered both Rzeszów-Jasionka and Lublin airports—key gateways for business travellers and aid shipments to Ukraine—to suspend all take-offs and landings. (polskieradio.pl)
The shutdown underscores how the Ukraine conflict continues to ripple across European mobility corridors. Rzeszów in particular has become NATO’s principal logistics hub for humanitarian and defence supplies, handling a record 1.2 million passengers in 2025. Corporates with supply-chain links to Ukraine should revisit contingency plans: alternative airports such as Kraków or Katowice can absorb diverted traffic, but ground transport from those cities adds three to five hours to typical journey times.
Operations resumed before 08:00 CET once the military declared the immediate threat over; PANSA nevertheless warned airlines to expect short-notice slot restrictions whenever Russia launches fresh attacks. Mobility managers should brief travellers to monitor NOTAMs and register for SMS alerts from carriers serving southeast Poland.
![Poland temporarily shuts Rzeszów and Lublin airports as air-defence jets respond to Russian strikes on Ukraine]()
Should travellers suddenly need to adjust itineraries or secure emergency travel documents, VisaHQ can simplify the process. Through its Poland portal (https://www.visahq.com/poland/) the service expedites visa applications, issues real-time alerts about regulatory changes, and offers corporate tools that dovetail with duty-of-care programmes—valuable assets when flights are rerouted or airports shut without warning.
From a risk-management perspective, the incident is a reminder that war-related air-space closures can now occur without warning well inside the Schengen area. Firms running rotation schedules for project staff and expatriates near the Ukrainian border may wish to extend duty-of-care briefings and consider door-to-door insurance coverage that treats temporary airport closures as a covered event.
Finally, the government credited NATO partners—particularly German and Dutch forces—for reinforcing Poland’s air-defence envelope. Continued allied cooperation should give travellers confidence, but the episode signals that periodic disruptions will remain a feature of doing business in eastern Poland for the foreseeable future. (polskieradio.pl)
The shutdown underscores how the Ukraine conflict continues to ripple across European mobility corridors. Rzeszów in particular has become NATO’s principal logistics hub for humanitarian and defence supplies, handling a record 1.2 million passengers in 2025. Corporates with supply-chain links to Ukraine should revisit contingency plans: alternative airports such as Kraków or Katowice can absorb diverted traffic, but ground transport from those cities adds three to five hours to typical journey times.
Operations resumed before 08:00 CET once the military declared the immediate threat over; PANSA nevertheless warned airlines to expect short-notice slot restrictions whenever Russia launches fresh attacks. Mobility managers should brief travellers to monitor NOTAMs and register for SMS alerts from carriers serving southeast Poland.
Should travellers suddenly need to adjust itineraries or secure emergency travel documents, VisaHQ can simplify the process. Through its Poland portal (https://www.visahq.com/poland/) the service expedites visa applications, issues real-time alerts about regulatory changes, and offers corporate tools that dovetail with duty-of-care programmes—valuable assets when flights are rerouted or airports shut without warning.
From a risk-management perspective, the incident is a reminder that war-related air-space closures can now occur without warning well inside the Schengen area. Firms running rotation schedules for project staff and expatriates near the Ukrainian border may wish to extend duty-of-care briefings and consider door-to-door insurance coverage that treats temporary airport closures as a covered event.
Finally, the government credited NATO partners—particularly German and Dutch forces—for reinforcing Poland’s air-defence envelope. Continued allied cooperation should give travellers confidence, but the episode signals that periodic disruptions will remain a feature of doing business in eastern Poland for the foreseeable future. (polskieradio.pl)
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